Police ordered to investigate threats over libel testimony

A court has ordered the Commissioner of Police to investigate an incident in which the treasurer of the Gozo NGOs Association was allegedly threatened by the association's secretary outside a courtroom this afternoon, right after testifying in a libel case against Maltese-language newspaper, it-Torca.

Joseph Camilleri took the witness stand in libel proceedings filed by Ryan Mercieca, as secretary of the association against Joseph Caruana, the editor of it-Torca over an article published in January 2016 in which it was alleged that Mercieca “was in a mess for failing to produce documents relating to the EU funds received” by the NGO association.

Before Magistrate Francesco Depasquale, Camilleri testified to Mercieca handling the funding of projects dealt with by the association and insisted that he had never been in possession of the original documentation for the projects, saying these had been given to the association's President or Secretary.

Just minutes after the sitting had ended, Camilleri's lawyer Yana Micallef Stafrace returned to the courtroom to inform the magistrate that Camilleri had just been threatened by Mercieca. The court ordered the parties to be recalled to the hall and asked them to explain what happened.

Camilleri claimed that Mercieca had approached him in the corridor outside the courtroom and had asked whether the treasurer had sought permission from the association to exhibit the documents in court. Camilleri said he had replied by saying that he had spoken to the president.

Mercieca had then allegedly said "issa gejja tieghek," which loosely translates to “you'll get what's coming to you.”
Lawyer Roberto Montalto,appearing for Mercieca, said he had witnessed the exchange and played down the incident, telling the court that what actually happened was slightly different to that described.

Magistrate Depasquale ordered the Commissioner of Police to investigate the incident nonetheless, giving him three weeks to present his findings in court.